After the two teams played to a 0-0 draw after 80 minutes of action, the Chieftains got the break they needed when a crossing pass was deflected off an Algonquin defender to Kim Slade. The senior tri-captain proceeded to bury a shot into the lower corner of the net to help lead top-seeded Nashoba to a hard-fought 1-0 overtime victory over third-seeded Algonquin in the Division 1 Central sectional final.

In order for the Nashoba Regional girls soccer team to defend its Division 1 Central crown and stay unbeaten this year, that is exactly what the Chieftains were facing when they took the field against Algonquin Regional on Saturday afternoon.

After the two teams played to a 0-0 draw after 80 minutes of action, the Chieftains got the break they needed when a crossing pass was deflected off an Algonquin defender to Kim Slade. The senior tri-captain proceeded to bury a shot into the lower corner of the net to help lead top-seeded Nashoba to a hard-fought 1-0 overtime victory over third-seeded Algonquin in the Division 1 Central sectional final.

"We didn’t play the way we normally play, but we were certainly happy to get the goal," said Nashoba head coach Pam Vaughn, whose team stayed unbeaten at 17-0-4. "Algonquin is a fabulous team. Each game we played them they were extremely strong. This was the type of game that I expected it to be."

Algonquin finishes its season at 15-3-3.

"I obviously congratulated them for a great season," Algonquin Regional head coach Scott Taggart said. "They had nothing to be ashamed of. It was an outstanding match. I thought that our girls played a tremendous game for over 80 minutes."

In the waning minutes of regulation, the Chieftains had a number of scoring chances but could not find the back of the net.

Nashoba carried that momentum into the overtime session. Amber Gustafson raced down the sidelines and sent a cross on net that appeared to hit an Algonquin defender before finding Slade for the heroics.

"Honestly, I just knew that the ball had to get into the back of the net somehow," Slade said. "The ball somehow rolled back, and I just used the inside of my foot and finished it."

"Kim gives that kind of effort every day, so I was so happy for her to finish that," Vaughn said. "That’s a senior captain for you that doesn’t just put it over the net, she made sure she executed. That is the type of effort that you hope to get from a player like that."

After Nashoba dominated play for most of the first half, Algonquin appeared to take control in the second half. Behind the strong play from Alexandra Moy, Christen Foley, Lucy LeBlond, Amanda Shea and Emily Dahlstrom, the Tomahawks generated some offense but could not get one past Nashoba goalie Eileen McGarry (3 saves).

"We knew that it was going to be a tight game, and we were just hoping that we would be able to convert one of our opportunities but it just didn’t happen tonight," Taggart said.

Page 2 of 2 - Earlier in the season, the Chieftains defeated the Tomahawks, 4-1, the first time around and just 1-0 the second time the two teams faced off.

"There was an improvement from game one to game two," Taggart said. "In game two we lost 1-0, and really thought that we defended well against them."

The Chieftains advanced to the state semifinals where they will play on Wednesday against the winner of the Division 1 West sectional finals.